What do I for Thanksgiving? It is actually the most difficult holiday for me because of some personal reasons. At one time it was a huge feast, all home-cooked of course. Now it is a meal out. Over the last few years I’ve had dinner at multiple places: Higgins (terrible dry awful turkey!), Paleys (great, but too darn romantic), and this year, Wildwood.
Thanksgiving at Wildwood is predictable. Always excellent service. Reasonable prices. The appetizers were the normal Wildwood dishes that have been on the menu for years. Everything on the turkey plate was excellent, down to the cranberries. A Carlton Farms pork dish was huge, and excellent – moist and full of flavor. Halibut was also just terrific. Desserts… well, they were lousy. I’m surprised, since those are usually a strong pont. Still, for a Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant, I’d give them a pretty good score.
There is always the question of what to do with leftover turkey. My Dad always used an adapted Russian recipe – inieka vishniovim sousom. It is easy, and good!
You’ll need:
Take the cherries and place them in the saucepan with the 2 tablespoons of juice, 1 teaspoon of the mixed spices, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook very slowly until they are reduced practically to pulp, then rub them through a sieve. At the same time, thinly slice the turkey, salt and pepper, and saute in the butter and Madeira. Turn the slices at least once, and when they are hot, remove to a heated dish on which you have placed the cherry sauce. Serve with a bit more sauce on top.
